By Savanah Wilson
There has always been controversy about school lunches in America, and whether they are healthy and as tasty as other nations'. But is this a problem that appears strictly in the States? What do other countries' lunches look like compared to ours?
School lunch is a big deal. About 30.6 million students in the US order school lunch, this means more kids are at risk of being unhealthy. However, this may not be as big of a problem in other countries. School lunches are a very complicated thing to curate because they have to accommodate many different kids' needs. This results in less nutrition because they need easy options.
Most American school lunches are accompanied by a sweet treat, but in other countries, there are no sweet treats. For instance, in Greece their sweet treat is yogurt with pomegranate, a healthier alternative.
In some countries, like Japan, the food is freshly grown or made. This is unlike America because most school lunches are shipped frozen. The number of obesity in America continues to be a problem. In other countries like Japan and Korea it is not. This may seem irrelevant, but with a majority of children in the US eating school lunches, it is very possible that the unhealthiness of school lunches may not help.
It is also interesting to learn that in multiple other countries, the children serve and make the food for themselves and their peers. While some may consider it a privilege that in America we do not have to do this, it may have value. If children are serving their own food, they are more thoughtful about the food they are eating and where it comes from. This is good because it teaches appreciation.
Overall, school lunches in other countries may have more benefits than in America. While America does have good intentions with their school lunches, they may not be as healthy or pleasing. Other countries have shown healthier options students will enjoy, with possibly even less resources than America.
Images sourced from Insider 2015.